Treatment of the reclaimed Bog-land of Wliittlesea Mere. 205 
The surface of the rough bo<;, tliough levelled and prepared 
for its coating of soil as well as was possible, consisted mainly 
of lumps of fibrous, and nearly wholly vegetable, peat, having no 
sand in it, and looking much like masses of dark-coloured tow or 
oakum. Beneath this upper covering of a loose dry growth of 
vegetable matter there exists, at a depth of a loot or so, a stratum 
of a hard, dry, red " moor," or peat in another form. This seam 
is from 10 to 18 inches in thickness, and is of such a nature that 
the roots of no plants appear able to penetrate it. Immediately 
below this obdurate band the character of the peat changes. It 
becomes soft, dark, and greasy, and, when reached in process of 
cultivation, is found to be very fairly fertile. 
In that part of the farm which has not been clayed it is sought 
to get rid of this sterile seam of red " moory " peat by very deep 
subsoil ploughing. This process repeated at intervals brings 
more and more of the objectionable substance to the surface, 
where it is raked into heaps and burned, until at length the band 
is broken up, and the roots of the various crops are enabled to 
pierce into the softer and richer soil beneath. Where the land 
has been clayed the breaking up of the band will require con- 
siderable time, and can only be done very gradually ; any extra 
deep ploughing being avoided for fear of the clay being lost. 
Implements, however, which, without subverting the top soil, 
Avill cut deeply into and so break up the hard stratum below 
would be useful. 
Even after the four inches of clay had been spread on it there 
was no inconsiderable portion of the newly reclaimed land on 
which horses could not work without constant danger of being 
bogged, and having to be drawn out with ropes ; and attention 
was consequently directed to cultivation by steam, which system 
has now been adopted over the whole farm. So perfectly satis- 
factory has been the result of its adoption, that, although the 
better drainage and better surface which now exists would enable 
horses to work anywhere, it is demonstrable that a return to 
horse-cultivation would be an unremunerative and retrograde 
movement. To the steam-engine, windlass, and wire-rope, which 
were used in the claying operations, there have now been added 
a Fowler's four-furrow plough, with wheels 12 inches wide, a 
Coleman's cultivator, covering 8 feet four inches of work, and 
a roller 8 feet in width ; the last two implements being adapted 
to steam purposes, with a steerage apparatus — the joint contri- 
vance of Messrs. Amies and Barford, and the bailiff, Mr. Crosbie 
— enabling them to turn with the utmost facility on their own 
ground on arriving at the headlands. 
The management of that part of the peaty tract of land which 
had been for some time under cultivation needs little remark 
